Look what I found in the bargain bin

Marcus Miller
The Sun Don't Lie
(Pra Records)

Price: S$7.95

For those mildly familiar with the world of virtuoso bass players, Marcus Miller would seem to be a bit of a sore thumb. Yeah, he's got that padded resume of having handled low end duties for Miles Davies and Luther Vandross, but that's hardly a novel belt notch in a scene where everybody has played for somebody, sometime. And arguably, Michael Manring's got far more bizarre experimentations, Victor Wooten pretty much owns all the prime property in the slap-n-pop neighbourhood, and John Patitucci evokes those dreamy lines on a double bass that are tailor-stitched for smoky lounge sessions.

But Miller is a straddler. As in, the type that can plant his feet firmly in seemingly disparate realms without incurring serious musical hernia. The Sun Don't Lie spreads his multi-flavoured jam with acute tastefulness, so that the skill-centric devotee, the funky monkey and the casual jazzpian can walk away with their own custom-made lollipop.

And so when the album peeked out from the lower crevices of a bargain shelf in Singapore, I greeted it with starry-eyed surprise. Deciding to add this to the must-buy pile was about as difficult as choosing between dinner with Zhang Ziyi and lunch with my GM. Unless you are one of those folks who actually has Zhang Ziyi as your GM. In which case, please forward my resume. Now.

Marcus Miller - Panther (from The Sun Don't Lie)